Typhoon Goni leaves 7 dead, 2 missing in Philippines

Manila (dpa) – A powerful typhoon toppled electricity transmission lines and trees as it triggered landslides and floods that left at least nine people dead in the northern Philippines, police and local officials said Saturday. Two other men were killed in separate landslides, while another man died because of a tree that fell due to the strong winds, according to the Office of Civil Defense.

Forecast to move west-northwest, the storm is expected to be in the vicinity of Batanes province’s capital Basco by Saturday morning, before exiting the Philippines’ territory by Monday morning.

On Saturday, two other people died in the Benguet province, Governor Nestor Fongwan reportedly said.

In adjacent Mountain province, a 10-year-old boy was buried by a landslide.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services reported that as of Friday afternoon, Typhoon Goni was located 110 kilometers (68 miles) east of Calayan island, with maximum wind speeds of 170 kilometers per hour (106 mph) and gusts of 205 kilometers per hour.

Tyhoon Goni will be passing east of Taiwan and head toward Okinawa, Japan, early next week, according to forecasters.

Northern and northeastern Taiwan can expect to be pelted by heavy rain in the coming days no matter how close Typhoon Goni gets to the island, a weather expert warned Friday, urging people to take precautions. Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most ferocious storms on record to hit land, devastated large areas of the central Philippines in November 2013, leaving more than 7,300 dead and missing.